Birmingham News/Bernard TroncaleIf Mike Davis decides to leave UAB, should his recruits have the same option?

The most surprising basketball news to come out of Memphis this week, as far as UAB is concerned, doesn't concern John Calipari.

It concerns Nolan Dennis, and the fact that, last fall, Memphis was willing to do for him what UAB would not do for DeMarcus Cousins.

And your first question is ...

Who is Nolan Dennis?

Exactly.

Turns out, he's a good high school basketball player from Texas. Rivals.com rates the shooting guard the No. 47 overall prospect in the Class of 2009.

Which means, among other things, he's no Cousins.

Dennis didn't play in Wednesday's McDonald's All-American Game.

Cousins, the senior from LeFlore High, did, and scored 14 points.

Dennis isn't the No. 2 overall prospect in the Rivals 150.

Cousins is.

That didn't stop Memphis from signing Dennis to a national letter-of-intent last fall and including a written addendum that would give him an unconditional release from that letter should Calipari leave Memphis.

Which Calipari did Tuesday for Kentucky.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that all four players who signed with Memphis in the early period were given a written escape clause.

Cousins, who committed to UAB a year ago, wanted the same thing in writing before he would sign with UAB.

The UAB administration, standing on principle, refused to give him a written assurance. So Cousins refused to sign.

It may be admirable of UAB to believe that a recruit should not hold an institution of higher learning hostage, that the letter-of-intent takes precedence over any written escape clause in the eyes of the NCAA.

In the real world, how can UAB expect to compete with Memphis if UAB won't play by the same rules as Memphis?

I'm not talking about bending the rules.

I'm talking about doing something that apparently isn't against the rules but is becoming a common recruiting practice.

Someone close to the Cousins family said that schools from coast to coast have offered to make a written promise that he can leave if he signs with their program and their head coach leaves.

If the people who run college sports cared about the student-athlete, that clause would be a part of every national letter-of-intent.

Coaches can leave without penalty.

Players should be given the same opportunity.

Is there a risk involved? Of course. There's a chance that all four of the players who signed early with Memphis, including Xavier Henry, the No. 3 prospect in the nation, might exercise their escape clause to go elsewhere.

That would put a serious dent in the roster.

There's also a chance that, without that clause, all four of those players might not have signed with Memphis last fall.

Cousins wanted an escape clause to sign with UAB, in part, because former high school teammate Nick Williams signed with Tom Crean and Marquette, only to see Crean leave for Indiana.

Cousins committed to Calipari and Memphis on March 8, and 23 days later, Calipari left for Kentucky.

Forgive the young man -- and he is a young man, with a lot of growing up to do, no matter how tall or talented he may be -- if he wants something in writing.